Smash Advent Calendar - Day 31 FINALE - Reggie

New Years Eve marks Day 31, the end of the Smash Advent Calendar. No-one is more suitable to round off the month with than the man, the myth, the legend - Reggie Fils-Aime. He joined Nintendo in December 2003 and is currently the President of Nintendo of America. He appeared on stage during E3 2004 and the rest, as they say, is history. He quickly became the star of Nintendo with his zany antics and unforgettable quotes, so I think it's time that he had a chance to shine as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4.

"My name is Reggie. I'm about kickin' ass, I'm about takin' names, and we're about making games". Now, Reggie won't be heading any game making during his time on the Smash Bros. roster, but he'll be kicking ass all over the place. Given his tall, burly build, I imagine Reggie to be a slower but immensely powerful character. He would have a fairly long range as he would be have a typical humanoid figure like Ganondorf and Captain Falco, so he would be more than able to  keep enemies at bay.

For his standard attacks, I think Reggie would look best throwing around heavy brawling attacks. Standard A, A, A combos would be consecutive punches that end with a powerful, slower blow like Ike. Forward tilt would be a spinning backhand punch, thus extending his reach further. Up tilt would be a tremendous headbutt, making use of his blocky and magnificent skull, and would be a good counter to enemies approaching from above. Down tilt would be a solid crouching kick - again, good range. His running attacks would simply be a shoulder barge, and would have a good smash factor. Grabs would have a decent range, with up, forward and down throws good for starting juggles and his back throw able to KO enemies at good percentages.

Reggie would play a mean game of smash attacks with his heavy frame, and enemies would have to be very careful around him. Forward smash would be a mighty punch in which he would take a staggered step forward during the animation, to highlight the effort exerted in the move and to add a little range to it. Down smash would be a spinning lariat, Zangief style. This would be a fast move but only around half the knockback of his forward smash. Up smash would be a two hit helicopter kick in which he kicks above his head - the second hit would hold most of the power, sending opponents flying upwards with great force. All of these powerful moves will give Reggie a great feeling to players, as all his attacks will give a great feeling of impact.

He'd have to wear his microphone, of course.

Mr. Fils-Aime would have a good list of aerial attacks at his disposal. These attacks would allow him to chase and juggle well, making use of his long limbs. Forward+A would be a terrific spike in the form of a forward punch, similar to Mario's own attack of the same input. Neutral+A would be a medium damage, medium knockback flying kick that lingers for a few seconds, stronger during its first 10 frames and reducing in power after that. Down+A would be a series of kicks that deals great damage but little knockback. Up+A would be an attack that sees him kick with both feet upwards and cause incredible knockback, and on hit would send Reggie straight downwards with intense momentum, leaving him grounded quickly and able to position himself on the ground.

Reggie would have some fairly intense special moves. I imagine him to be an excellent wrestler, so I think he'd suit having a few grapples. Neutral+B would be a grab with slightly better range than his normal grab and it'd have a unique animation - it would be a body slam with the enemy that the player would maintain some control over, much like Bowser's Side+B, and like Bowser's attack the enemy would be able to try and fight back against this control. It would mean Reggie could drag enemies to positions that the player would benefit from or set up kamikaze moves, whilst offering modest damage and knockback at the same time. Whilst still on the wrestling theme, Reggie's Side+B would see him charge a fair distance, and on hit would see him perform a small piledriver on the enemy that would leave them in the stuck-in-the-ground state for a time relative to their percentage.

For his Down+B, I envision some Nintendo references coming in. Reggie would pull out a random Nintendo console that he has represented; Gamecubes, Wiis, WiiUs, DSes and 3DSes could all be thrown at opponents, each offering slightly different knockback and damage to keep opponents guessing. This would give Reggie some keep-away options that he'll need as a heavyweight. His Up+B would follow the Nintendo references, being a controller attack. On the ground, Reggie would perform multiple attacks with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk attachment like an actual nunchuk - the attack would have some good reach and surround Reggie, protecting him from attacks at all angles, but would have a second or two cooldown afterwards. When done in the air, Reggie would whip the wire of a Gamecube controller upwards and would receive a small "pop" in momentum upwards, and the wire would latch on to edges.

Reggie knows that fans want him in the game, and he actually talked about his moves briefly, stating that his Final Smash would be named after one of his most famous quotes - "my body is ready" would become the "My Body Is Ready Slam"! I see this move beginning with Reggie charging forward at great speed with his rm extended to perform a clothesline. All opponents hit by the move will be stunned and would then be caught in an animation. The camera would zoom into a notepad that Reggie is writing on, showing that Reggie has written the names of everyone caught by the move. Reggie would then appear above each of these people one by one and slam them off of the stage. He'd pop a thumbs up and the match would continue.

In an ideal world, Reggie would have no weaknesses, but in the interests of balance, he has to have a few. His jumps would be fairly low due to his weight class, so when he's sent flying, he'd have some trouble getting back and this would have to be done quickly because of his high gravity. His ledge grab special would give him more chance at recovering but it would be pretty predictable. Obviously, he'd also have some issues with speed. He'd be fairly slow on the ground and similar in the air, and his attacks would have some initial lag with vulnerable points afterwards.

At the end of the day, Reggie has to appear in Smash 4. He deserves it. He revamped Nintendo's image and had his part to play in the companies dominance over such a wide market over the last ten years. Not only that, but he's loved by the internet, being famous for his amazing quotes and strange ways of phrasing things. He's being requested to appear in the game by fans all over the world, currently reaching 49,000 signatures on a petition to get him included in the game. Can all of those people be wrong?

Thank you all so much for reading these articles over the past month, it's been very entertaining talking about a series of games I love every day. I hope my character analyses and concepts for new players have been entertaining to read. I'll be taking a little break, but watch out for similar projects in the future.  Big thanks to the SSB Wiki that has provided detailed move data and the Smash Boards for having a spirited and imaginative community - go and support them!